MI captain Rohit Sharma was on his way to first IPL at best on his 25-round half-century before the Mumbai Indians overcame tense moments to secure the final ball against the Delhi Capitals here on Monday.
David Warner struggled 51-47 before Axar Patel once again showed his much-improved batting skills with an impressive 54-25 to take the Delhi Capitals to a competitive 172. After this, the Mumbai Indians defeated the hosts.
With the drier pitch than the opening game here earlier and the finger spinners receiving plenty of support, the Mumbai Indians struggled to advance. But Rohit’s graceful 65-for-45 balls helped his side to their first win of the season.
With the 2 Aussie players- Cameron Green (17/8) and Tim David (13/11) in the middle, Mumbai needed five runs from the last over.But Anrich Nortje stretched the game to the last ball. David scored the required two from the last ball to win a much-needed one. Third-place-promoted Tilak Varma was in top form, catching 41 runs from 29 balls and scoring 68 straight points under captain Rohit.
This was a much-needed win for Mumbai after back-to-back defeats as the season deteriorated for Delhi. They suffered their fourth loss in as many games.
Particular success came when Rohit Mukesh rushed Kumar’s first-round time to bowl him for an above-average six wickets.
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There is no best player in Rohit’s game, which is fully demonstrated in Feroz Shah Kotla. Even better was his second six, taking Anrich Nortje off the forefoot with the longest shot. Rohit’s first six scored on a shot, as he smashed a short ball from Nortje for a deep shot into square legs.
Delhi managed to stem the flow of runs at half-time with spinners Lalit Yadav and Axar Patel before Varma finished to keep Mumbai at the top of the game. Mumbai needed 30 of their last five overs with nine goals in hand and was on course to a comfortable victory before Mukesh Varma and Suryakumar Yadav (0) stopped bowling.
Rohit gave a stunning catch to young wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel, as he dunked his right foot sensationally on the ball of Mustafizur Rahman with one hand.
Previously, veteran Piyush Chawla, who scored in the IPL last season after failing to sell, scored three goals for the Mumbai Indians who still boast his high qualities.
Prithvi Shaw, who struggled in the first three games, hit known limits with her 10-15 ball before collapsing on a long shot from spinner Hrithik Shokeen. Number three Manish Pandey (26 for 18) used his feet against the spinners but also knocked him down. Yash Dhull, who made his IPL debut after warming up on the bench last season, was only able to make four saves. When Chawla caught Rovman Powell from Googly at 11, Delhi looked for four with an underperforming total of 86.
However, Axar joined the struggling Warner in the middle and single-handedly turned the momentum of the rounds to Delhi. Arguably the Indian team’s best-improved batsman in the past 12 months, Axar made his intentions clear by scoring straight goals with a shokeen. Two overs later, it was leader Jason Behren dorff’s turn to block the end of Axar’s attack.
After kicking with a long six, Axar aimed for the same spot again and was lucky as Suryakumar Yadav missed his catch completely and was hit in the eye as the ball went all the way. No wonder Surya was taken off the field after that bad shot. Axar’s fifth and final six was the best of them all as he hit Meredith over the head to commemorate his half-century.
Mumbai stood with four wickets in Behren dorff 19-pin, finishing for three for 23 in four overs.
